Entrepreneurial Role Models: A New Engine for Return Migrant Worker Entrepreneurship in Rural China

The selection of entrepreneurial endeavors by return migrant workers represents a form of reverse urban-to-rural labor migration that has the potential to promote rural development and contribute to rural revitalization. However, there is a paucity of academic research examining the influence of entrepreneurial role models on their decision to pursue entrepreneurship. In light of this gap, this paper employs data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) to analyze the impact of entrepreneurial role models in 2017 on return migrant worker entrepreneurship in 2019. This analysis is based on social learning theory and employs the OLS and 2SLS methods. The results demonstrate that the entrepreneurial role models in 2017 exerted a significant influence on the probability of return migrant workers initiating businesses in 2019, increasing it by .80%. These results remain robust after using an instrumental variable approach and an enhanced method to mitigate self-selection bias to address the endogeneity problem. The mechanism analysis indicates that entrepreneurial role models can enhance the strength of social networks by increasing the frequency of interactions with return migrant workers, thereby influencing their decisions to pursue entrepreneurial careers. The impact of entrepreneurial role models on return migrant workers’ entrepreneurial activities varies significantly. Specifically, the findings indicate that older individuals, those with less education, and those with higher income levels before returning to their hometowns are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial activities. This study aims to provide insights that can inform the formulation of appropriate policies for rural sustainable development in developing countries.